Is Data Science a Good Career Path in 2024?

Last updated on August 11th, 2024 at 08:40 pm

Returning back in 2012, it was predicted that data scientists could build one of the most promising careers of the 21st century.

A lot of people decided to try their luck and started to improve their skills in order to transition into the role of successful data scientist in the most prestigious worldwide companies.

Since 2016 data scientists invariably placed first place on the job market in the United States. Unfortunately, it lost its shine in 2020 probably because of the impact of the global pandemic.
What can we say about the role of data scientists in the present day? Is data science really in demand? Nowadays a data scientist places third place on the list of the most desired jobs in the United States. It demonstrates and proves that despite the changes Covid-19 caused, data scientists are still in demand.

If the demand for a data scientist is high, what do these experts do? As a rule, data scientists utilize data to comprehend and present an explanation of phenomena around them and assist organizations to make more informed decisions.

One can also give a definition of a data scientist as someone who has the ability to think like a computer scientist and at the same time act like a statistician. Simply speaking, data scientists are those who successfully mastered the art of extracting sense from data and are able to resolve real issues in business.

How to Begin your Career in Data Science

Do you wonder “is data science a hard career?” Operating as a data scientist may appear complicated at the beginning. However, the path to becoming a competent data scientist is no less difficult.

Of course, you will possess the opportunity to be a valuable employee and play an essential role in how companies make decisions.

Still, before this, you should make an effort and find out how to become an expert data scientist.

Do you plan to begin your career in data science but do not know where to start? Let’s consider the initial steps of becoming a data scientist.

1. Take Online Courses

Whether you desire to start studying data science from the beginning or simply improve your skills, you can find a large number of useful courses online.

But what if you have access to not all courses because of some restrictions?
If some of the chosen courses are not available in your location, there is no need to look for other options since you can make use of a helpful VPN.

Among a number of virtual private network providers, VeePN is surely worth your attention and trust.

It will be more convenient to take a course from a computer, that’s why downloading a free VPN for a PC would be a proper decision. After the best free VPN for PC download, you will get immediate access to any decided courses in data science.

For instance, you will be able to browse pages at high speed free of interruptions. This provider is what you need if you are searching for the top VPN software for windows.

Online courses have become extremely popular, especially during the global pandemic.

That’s why you should take a chance and strengthen your knowledge of data science by applying for online courses.

It is convenient since such courses are affordable for everybody and there is no necessity to leave your home.

2. Get a Corresponding Degree
As a rule, employers will pay more attention to those candidates who can present academic credentials. With them, employers will be able to make sure you possess some makings for operation in the data science area. Still, academic credentials are not always needed.

However, if you have a bachelor’s degree in data science, it can assist you to stand out from other potential candidates for the job position. If you are going to study computer and data science and statistics, this will be a great decision since you will gain an edge in this area.

3. Improve Correspond Skills

Operating as a data scientist needs having a set of particular skills.

For data scientist job growth to be, there is a necessity to sharpen these skills regularly. For example, some of the significant skills every data scientist should improve are as follows:

Data scientists utilize programming languages for analyzing, sorting out, and managing huge blocks of data. Some of the widespread programming languages for data scientists are Python, SQL, SAS, and others.
Data scientists possess many duties, and one of them is the possibility to create charts and graphs. For this, data scientists should master the utilization of such instruments as Excel, Tableau, and PowerBI.

You will be of high value for hirers if you are familiar with big data.

There are many software frameworks that can be utilized by data scientists to process big data. Hadoop and Apache Spark are considered the most popular platforms for this.

The above-discussed tips are helpful for those who decide to start a career in data science. And if you decide to start by taking online courses and still face the problem of blocking content , you can look review for a VPN before using it.

However, one should not forget about an extra important aspect: communication. Only those data scientists who are able to well report their results will possess the ability to affect any change. Data scientists will be considered brilliant and real professionals if they can share ideas verbally and in written language.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Data Scientist Career

It is pleasant to be aware that the demand for a data scientist still exists today. However, as with every career, operating in data science has both advantages and disadvantages. As one may guess, being demanded is one of the pluses of being a data scientist. Among other advantages of operating in data science one can highlight:

the abundance of positions;
a highly-paid career;
data science is universal;
being a data scientist is highly prestigious.

If you wonder “is data science a good career”, we can answer with certainty that deciding to become a data scientist will open many opportunities for you. However, you should be ready and know about some of the minuses of this career.

to master data science completely requires much time and effort;
data science depends greatly on domain knowledge;
continued learning and high commitment are required.

Despite existing cons, we can respond to the “does data science have a future?” question positively. The number of those who desire to operate as data scientists is just increasing. For this, these people are ready to gain the necessary knowledge and improve the required skills in order to be the best experts in data science.

Data Scientist Responsibility and Salary Range

Operating in data science requires some responsibilities from an employee. Some of the most common duties are the determination of relevant data sources for business needs, gathering structured and unstructured data, searching for missing data, organization of data into convenient-to-use formats, improvement of the process of data gathering, and more.

Speaking about salary, it will depend on what experience you possess, which sector you are in, and your job type. These elements, as a rule, will measure the exact wage that you can obtain. The wage of data scientists ranges from $30K to $150K.
On the examples of popular organizations, data scientists earn approximately $79 000 at Apple while experts in data science can earn nearly $115 000 working at Facebook. In terms of countries, it is worth noting that data scientist job growth and more opportunities are possible in the US and UK.

Top Industries Employing Data Scientists

Nowadays, almost every industry requires good and professional data scientists. Thus, it opens a lot of possibilities for future experts in data science to select the industry they would like to operate in. Before you start applying for your first job, there is a necessity to remember the top industries where data scientists are in demand the most:

finance;
information technology;
banking;
E-commerce;
media and entertainment.

If you wonder “which career is best in data science?”, then you will be pleasantly surprised by how many positions are available for potential data scientists. For instance, you can sharpen your skills and work as a data analyst, machine learning engineer, data architect, data science consultant, etc.

Conclusion

Do you possess plans to become a data scientist but have doubts about “is data science a good career?” Put aside uncertainty, since nowadays more and more data scientists are needed in the workforce. You can be that professional who will offer companies his/her experience and skills.
The pathway to becoming a qualified and competent data scientist may appear time-consuming and troublesome. However, all efforts are worth it since you will not be equal in the market.